Conference

International Peace Research Association (IPRA) 28th Biennial Conference, Nairobi

African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (NextGen) fellows were part of the delegates of the 28th Biennial IPRA conference, that was held in Nairobi Kenya, from January 10-15, 2021. IPRA’s purpose is to advance research into the conditions of peace and the causes of war and other forms of violence. The theme of this years’ conference was on ‘Peace-Technology: Positioning the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Emerging Technologies in Fostering Global Peace.’ The program director of the Social Science Research Council’s APN and Next Gen programs, Cyril Obi gave a welcome address to delegates during the …

Africa Great Lakes Region (2030) Sustaining Peace

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC), Search for Common Ground and the Faculty of Law, University of Goma, held a virtual conference on “Africa Great Lakes (2030) Sustaining Peace, on March 23-24, 2021. The conference was held over two days and organized around two themes. On the first day presentations and discussions were focused on “Consolidating and Sustaining Peace,” while presentations and discussions on the second day focused on, “Building Economies of Peace and Prosperity.” The opening session on the first day of the conference featured brief welcome remarks by Cyril Obi, Program Director of the SSRC’s African Peacebuilding Network

Chad (VTC)

On 28 April 2021, the Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum (CPPF) convened an expert brainstorming on Chad in partnership with the UN Central Africa division. This brainstorming brought together scholars and expert practitioners with representatives from key UN departments to discuss recent developments in Chad. The first session was a practical assessment of recent events following the death of President Idriss Deby. The second session provided an opportunity to reflect on the implications of his death for the broader region.

Virtual Book Launch of Researching Peacebuilding in Africa: Reflections on Fieldwork, Theory and Context

The virtual book launch commenced with the introduction of the editors of the book, Ismail Rashid and Amy Niang, and the book launcher, Nomfundo Walaza, by Cyril Obi, the program director of the SSRC’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) programs. This was followed by the presentation of the overview of the book by the editors and some chapter contributors. The editors explained that the book was the product of dialogues that facilitators/mentors had with each other as well as APN fellows during training workshops held annually since 2013, on the various dimensions

Finalists’ Symposium

On March 30 and 31, 2012, a symposium was held in New York City for the finalists in the New Directions in the Study of Prayer Research Initiative. Each finalist project was presented by its respective principal investigator. The symposium provided participants with a unique opportunity to gather feedback on their projects from their peers and fellow finalists, as well as from the advisory committee. This feedback will be instrumental as finalists move forward with their projects and submit full proposals later this year.

Why Prayer? A Conference on New Directions in the Study of Prayer

On February 6-7, 2015, the SSRC’s Religion and the Public Sphere program hosted the capstone conference for its New Directions in the Study of Prayer (NDSP) project. Over the course of two days, more than 60 participants gathered at the Italian Academy at Columbia University for a series of panels and roundtable discussions that addressed topics ranging from religious technologies to the intersection of religion and politics to the challenges and rewards of covering prayer and religion in journalism. Among the many presentations on Friday was a discussion of “Prayer Machines,” one of several interdisciplinary collaborations that developed out of the NDSP

Science and the Human Person: Engaging Tradition and Informing Public Discourse

Rapid advances in science and technology are raising fundamental questions about human life, flourishing, suffering, and death. When does human life begin and deserve protection? How is deeper knowledge of genetics reshaping our conceptions of the human person? What does it mean to live and die with dignity amid 21st century medical technologies? These and other ethical questions at the intersection of science and the human person have a global character, encompassing all of humanity, cutting across national, cultural, and religious boundaries. The Science and the Human Person working group will advance a global, interreligious and intercultural conversation about science,

Authority, Community, Identity I

The goal of the first consultation on Authority, Community, and Identity was to explore themes, methods, and possible participants for a working group that will spend three years examining the ways that modern Catholic, Muslim and secular actors understand and navigate interactions among these three defining elements of associational life and public presence. In keeping with Contending Modernities’ constructive agenda, the meeting aimed to provide guidance for the potential working group as it attempted to identify creative responses to the challenges facing communities.

Social Science Knowledge and Its Future

In this talk, Ken Prewitt will reflect on the past half-century of social science research, a “golden era” marked (in the U.S.) by the arrival of “big science,” the huge increase in readily-available government data, the significant dedication of foundation funds, the explosion of numbers in both PhDs and job opportunities, and the growth of a policy enterprise.  As features of this golden era fade, Prewitt will identify a few key features emerging in the search for a new platform for advancing the social sciences. Lecture by: Kenneth Prewitt, Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs, Columbia University Kenneth Prewitt — Carnegie Professor (SIPA);

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